UWM (NYSE:UWMC) Sets New 1-Year Low After Insider Selling

Shares of UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $3.40 and last traded at $3.4250, with a volume of 473574 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.53.

Specifically, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.55, for a total transaction of $3,552,037.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,331,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,927,105.45. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of UWM stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.72, for a total transaction of $3,722,135.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,332,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,555,609.16. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 1,000,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.60, for a total value of $3,602,066.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,333,301 shares in the company, valued at $29,999,883.60. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UWMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $5.00 price objective on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $6.00 price target on UWM in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays cut their price target on UWM from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research downgraded UWM from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on UWM in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $8.50 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, UWM has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.49.

UWM Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 57.25 and a beta of 1.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.22.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). UWM had a net margin of 0.87% and a negative return on equity of 1.35%. The business had revenue of $945.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.12 million. On average, equities analysts predict that UWM Holdings Corporation will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

UWM Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 19th. UWM’s dividend payout ratio is 666.67%.

Institutional Trading of UWM

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of UWM by 258.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 103,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 74,565 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in UWM by 1,570.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 12,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11,461 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in UWM during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in UWM in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,799,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in UWM by 504.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,498,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,566,000 after buying an additional 1,250,845 shares during the period. 53.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About UWM

United Wholesale Mortgage (NYSE: UWMC) is a leading mortgage lender in the United States specializing in the wholesale channel. The company partners with independent mortgage brokers, community banks and credit unions to offer a full suite of residential mortgage products. Through its network of third-party originators, United Wholesale Mortgage underwrites, funds and closes loans, allowing its partners to focus on customer acquisition and service.

The company’s product offerings include conventional fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, U.S.